Ten-year-old Nisar, originally from Imamganj village in Katihar district, started crying when he was asked about his village's name. Fourteen-year-old Lalbabu, from Kamtaul village in Madhubani, also became emotional when he was asked about the hardships he faced while working at a factory in Jaipur.

Such extraordinarily emotional scenes unfolded at Patna Junction on Tuesday morning when 159 rescued child labourers, who were discovered working at glass bangle and cricket bat making factories under subhuman conditions in Jaipur, alighted from the Barner-Guwahati Express at the station around 9am.

The children were rescued by Rajasthan labour department officials, and the non-government organisation Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre played an important part in the children's identification and arranging for them to come back home.

Bihar deputy labour commissioner Akbar Zaved, Patna district labour superintendent Rajeev Ranjan and district child protection officer Shambhu Prasad escorted the children along with Prayas officials from Jaipur to Patna. After the children reached Patna, they were counselled and taken to Apna Ghar, the home for destitute children run by the social welfare department.

Many of the children broke down when they were being asked questions about their working conditions, and their homes.

"There was a tiny dark room where hoards of children used to work for 15-16 hours a day," said Nisar, barely able to complete his sentences because he was sobbing. "We received bruises on fingers, faces and all other body parts while making bangles in the flames. Many times we pleaded with the bosses to give us some time to rest but no one paid any heed to our pleas. I have developed serious respiratory problems because of working in a congested room."

Lalbabu pointed to his swollen legs when the counsellor asked him about any physical he faced while working at a cricket bat making factory. "You can find some children here with chicken pox, even they were not allowed any respite and had to work for endless hours like us," the boy said.

Of the 159 children, 52 are from Gaya, 39 are from Samastipur and the others are from districts such as Bhagalpur, Jamui, Jehanabad, West Champaran and Sitamarhi. Md. Tafweej, child rights in-charge at the Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre, said 100 of the 159 children rescued from Jaipur were aged between 8 and 11 years.

"The children were found with bruises and respiratory problems because of working in a congested place for prolonged hours," Tafweej said. "The children were basically working as bonded labourers; most of them were working for more than 12 hours a day without proper food. They had no permission to move around and were harassed mentally as well. While we have sent the children from Gaya to their homes today, the rest of them will stay Apna Ghar for one or two days till we make arrangements to send them to the special homes in their districts. Or we will wait for the parents to come here and collect their children."

He said Rs 3,000 would be spent on providing new clothes and medicines to each child while Rs 25,000 would be deposited in their bank accounts for their education as per a state government policy.

"We will take initiative for proper rehabilitation of the children and follow-ups will also be done," Tafweej added.